A Walk Around the Block; a walking food tour of one block in Lancaster

It was a cold windy Saturday in December. 

Himself and I decided to head out to a friend's charity market thing. Already on the way, we found out... not only had she left, it closed in an hour! 

Refusing to give up, we decided to go on a walk and try some new places we had heard about in town. We parked near Central Market, which had closed a half hour earlier (Of course... sigh), and began our walk. (Herself fails to mention the near Arctic conditions, with blasting freezy winds and the occasional polar bear stalking us) First stop...

Super Bread Colombian Bakery 47 North Queen Street Lancaster. There we had an empanada each with the house made salsa, split a Coconut bun, and I had a cup of some of the strongest coffee I have ever had. The whole thing cost about $6.00?! It was wholesome,

homemade and delicious. The shop is small and clean. It is set up a little weird, and we caught them towards the end of their day, they closed at 5. The baked good selection was slim, but that coconut bun was outstanding. It was a soft glossy bun, with a creamy coconut filling swirled through. The empanada was piping hot with a crispy shell, the inside was a filling of meat and potatoes. The salsa was very fresh, and a perfect compliment. I was very impressed. We will definitely hit them up again, and maybe try some of the other offering they have.   

A goodly snack, or quick meal.  The place seems authentic, and the food sure tastes like it is.  It's not a fancy place even by small street shop standards, but the food is good and the folks there are nice. It's the kind of place I wouldn't have been shocked to find on anycorner, in PR.

Our next stop was the Tea and Spice Exchange that we blogged about last week. (We actually stopped in there again today.) It's a

great little locally owned shop! When we were in today they were drying orange peels for the citrus salt blend (And it smelled $#@!%#$ fantastic!)

After we warmed up there, we stopped by Cocina Mexicana for a taco or two, and a Mango soda. Another place we have reviewed, and enjoyed. This visit I had one of the daily special tacos (Chicken in a green chili sauce) and the Al Pastur (Pork and Pineapple), hands down my favorite taco here!

Finally we finished up at Sugar on Top, a small coffee and doughnut shop, for our sweet treat.This is a locally owned franchise, with the main office in Strasburg, PA. Here you can have a fully customized cake style doughnut. They have some that you can choose from pre-made, and you can get some from their recommended combination. They are honestly the best cake donuts I have ever had! 

They have vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet; Go for the chocolate! They also sell scrappies, donuts that didn't pass quality control (I like these.  Always willing to munch the underdog...lol). Those are pretty outrageously tasty too. The donuts we had this day were Maple Bacon on a vanilla cake doughnut, and a Chocolate Cannoli doughnut. The Maple Bacon doughnut was tasty. It's a vanilla doughnut they covered with maple icing and then dipped into a crock pot of crunchy bacon bits. The cannoli doughnut was a chocolate cake doughnut with

cannoli filling, a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips and a dusting of powdered sugar. They are rich, sweet, decadent, happiness in your mouth! The coffee here was good, nothing fancy, but a good hot cup of coffee.  We will keep going back!

To be clear on the doughnut thing.... Herself was the driver on that. I was there more for the hot coffee, and the getting out of the freezing wind, and the not being frozen solid on the street.

The doughnuts were nice, though.  

 

The Spice and Tea Exchange....a little spice of life.

Saturday afternoon, and we decided to head into town.  The *plan* was to go visit a craft show at Farm and Home, but half way in we realized it was closing up soon.  

Plan B was going to Market, for a basket of Noms to include Chorizo sausage and some cheeses.   We parked near the Market, and moments later were tugging on the locked door... as Market was closed.... and once again demonstrate our stupidity.   (Deep heartfelt sigh goes here).

That left us standing in an alley by Market, totally at loose ends, and nothing to do but enjoy the howling arctic winds that were so busily sucking the souls out of pedestrians like us.

As it happens, on the drive in Herself had identified several places she wanted to visit .  Mostly by wildly pointing and making OOK OOK sounds as we drove through town.   Given our situation, Herself pointed out it would be a good opportunity to take a walking nom-nom tour of said places.  So be it..... off we tromped, shivering and growling.  Well.... mostly she shivered and I growled.

All that leads to our finding something special as we trekked our trek.  Midway through the walking feast, we came upon The Spice and Tea Exchange at 20 West Orange street.  

Walking in the front door of the building (which used to be my bank), we were hit with a wall of scintillating scents.  Not ten steps into the store, we were also hit with a Very Perky young clerk (her name was Gianna, and she was adorable) who was quite willing to show us every facet of the store while burying us in a flurry of .... 'perkiness'. The attention was nice, yet we just wanted to look around and take it all in on our own, which YoungPerky (Gianna!)was kind enough to allow us to do.   On the other hand, I was left with the impression overwhelming help was just one voiced question away.

First, to the right as one walks in.... the Wall-O-Spice-Blends.  Each aptly named blend includes a big jar of the mix which a customer can open, breath in, and even taste a pinch of I assume.  Alongside each large urn, small jars of the mix, and one ounce bags as well.  The majority of the blends seem to run about $5 an ounce.  To put that into perspective, I think the one ounce bag of English Roast

Rub I bought will likely do two or three large roasts (which I'm deeply looking forward to!)  If I'm paying $20 for a hunk of meat, another $2 to give it outstanding flavor seems fair.

Moving on, there is the Wall-O-Salts, which is crammed with rare, unusual, and interestingly flavored salts.  Salt is such an important seasoning in our food, but so often gets left to only one or two types.  Table salt and kosher salt rule the roost, yet there are SO MANY other choices.  Not just herbed and spiced salts, which Spice and Tea Exchange has plenty of, but the more unusual varieties of natural salts out there.  Each has it's own addition to the plate.

Naming something as 'Salt' seems straightforward, and most folks are only aware of the iconic blue-box table salt, or more often the nameless salt shaker.  But.... it's just not like that.  Salt is a natural mineral, and it's flavor depends on it's source and environment.  Small 'impurities' change the flavor greatly.  It's a bit like calling that big thing in your back yard a 'tree'.  Yes, it's a tree.... but there are thousands of kinds of tree, and they can be wildly different.

Speaking for myself, I think there may be striking value in the idea of 'finishing salt'.  That little sprinkle of an unusual salt or salt mix that lends a final touch to the dish.  Towards that end, I'll be heading back to his shop to build myself a selection of salts to do exactly that.

Past the salt cellar and seller (See what I did there?),  we find exactly what we'd expect.... the Wall-O-Pepper.   There, a multitude of 'peppers' from around the world.  Not just the black pepper we all spent a lifetime buying pre-ground, flavor-reduced, and cheap-cheap.

Happy we were to see an entire row of various Paprika's, including a sweet Hungarian Paprika we were out of, and both of us relish.  I think the variations on that theme alone are worth creating dishes just to explore the spice.

Plain black pepper, or it's brother Tellicherry, are in attendance in abundance.  The difference between the pre-ground crap found in the grocery store, and pepper that's been freshly ground right over the plate..... that difference is like the spread between a busted down Chevy Cobalt and a perfectly maintained Rolls Royce.  Just plain black pepper, and it's variations, can utterly change a dish.  There are pre-loaded pepper grinders on the shelf in every grocery store, and they are not expensive.  One can also choose to buy their whole pepper at a shop like The Spice and Tea Exchange, and use their own grinder.  Whichever.... there is simply no excuse for using that flavorless pre-ground stuff anymore.  

Joining the peppery goodness on the back wall are all the bulk spices.  Un-ground, un-defiled, and whole for the most part.  Displaying maybe ten times more variety of spices than an average home might have on hand, the store has a fair selection of needful things. Not everything, but certainly enough to vastly expand the flavors most people encounter in their lives.

Between the whole spices and the next wall of goodly tastiness, we encountered the owners of the store, Mike and Judy Gitomer.   They graciously talked with us about the store and how they came to own it.  Along the way they shared their enthusiasm for what they are doing.

See..... The Spice and Tea Exchange is something of a rule-breaker for Herself and I, being the first chain store we've ever reviewed here.  It's a franchise operation, with locations around most of the country.  That said, Mike and Judy have made it their place in every way.  Yes, the displays, layout, and even the lighting are all probably part of the franchise specifications, but it's the people who make the shop come alive.  Only open a few months so far (they have been open since July. They both work other jobs, but have really found a passion in this!), these folks are already making their mark.  The store was Busy while we were there.

Lancaster needs a shop like this, where people with an interest can satisfy and expand their palate.   Yes, the last time I looked there is a spice and tea shop in Market.  That said.... Market is open only a couple days a week, for limited times, and gets a might bit crowded for our taste.  To counter that, Spice and Tea exchange is open 7 days a week, with a nice spread of hours that allow real working human type people to get there.

We were in town on *our* schedule.  The Spice and Tea Exchange was open.  Market was closed.  SoSadTooBad Market.... you lose.

Back to the walls of interesting things at the store, we completed the circumnavigation with a short wall of flavored sugars (I will be getting some of those sugars, to make and bake with!), and a Big Wall of Teas.  Lot's of teas. Many, many, lots of teas. All's the teas.   With myself not being a heavy tea drinker, being happy with the occasional pot of Black English Breakfast brewed in my percolator, the selection here was impressive.  Flavored and herbed teas seemed to be the best part of them, but my eyes lighted on some old favorites as well. Another visit, and I'll try a nice Ruby Oolong perhaps.

Rather intelligently, I think, the proprietors sell quite nice small tins for storing spices.  Just the right size for an ounce or two of spice mix, with a clear insert in the lid so one may see what's inside.  The clear plastic insert takes writing from a sharpie well so it can be labeled.  These tins sell for a just few dollars, being a reasonable counterbalance to the premium prices the spices bring.

Also rather intelligent of them, and I suspect the franchise company has a hand in this, they maintain a rack of free recipes cards on hand.  Full color, professionally done, and designed to highlight the spices the store sells.  While we were there, they had several of these recipes done up and available for tasting.  I very pointedly refused to taste the bourbon glazed pecans.... as I know a drug dealers trick when I see it.  "Psstt..... Hey Buddy!   Ya wanna try a free taste of this amazing stuff?" (Ermagherd! They were soo good. They were Bourbon Bacon Glazed Pecans. I could have eaten the whole bowl.)

Take one each of the  free fancy recipe cards, put them in an album, and they'd make a fair cook book.  For free.  Yeah... sure..... free.  All you need are $ome of the $pices to complete each dish.

I'm a fan of flavor.  Sometimes the dish is about the ingredient, like a grilled steak.  Using seasoning on a grilled steak is done to accent the steakiness of the steak.  It all starts with a really good steak.  On the other hand, sometimes the dish is more about the seasoning and spice.  Chili is a good example.  Yes, the ingredients need to be good and handled correctly, but they are there to uphold and display the spices involved.   

See the difference?  An unseasoned steak can still be a great steak with lots of steak flavor.  An un-spiced Chili..... well..... it just ain't Chili.

Life is like that.   Sometimes, it's all about the spice.

Mike & Judy GitomerMik  

Mike & Judy Gitomer

Ciro's Italian Bistro; They aren't afraid of flavor!

So... at the last possible minute, Himself and I changed dinner plans. It was 5pm on Saturday evening. We were supposed to go see a friends band play and grab a late dinner... and review a new restaurant. He decided he didn't want to go to the original place, and instead wanted to try a restaurant his eldest man-child recommended.  

Ciro's Italian Bistro, 605 Richmond Square (Off Fruitville Pike above Lancaster). They advertise as family owned, Authentic Italian food with heart. Everything is made in house, and 'Mama' makes a limited variety of homemade desserts each day. They also make Gelato in house.

We found the restaurant easily. They are located in one of those cute "old-fashioned" style planned communities that have become popular locally, with businesses on the bottom and apartments on the upper floors.

We got to the restaurant at 6pm on the nose and the place was noisy, bustling, and busy. Fortunately, there was no line. There was, however, a small kerfluffle at the greeters station when we first arrived. An older (but not quite elderly) woman was shrieking at the greeters that she "Could not sit where they had seated her because there were wretched children making sounds at the table behind her and she has sat there before and knows how dreadful that spot is and they have to fix her seat, NOW, NOW, NOW."  It was a disturbing and unbecoming scene for sure. I was concerned it would set the tone for our meal, but I'm pleased to report it did not. Frankly I hoped they sat the unpleasant woman outside, so other diners did not have to listen to her shrill voice. It was far worse than a family with kids would have been! 

The slightly embarrassed hostess offered us a seat at the bar or at the bistro table closest to the door. We chose the table by the door instead of the bar and we were seated almost immediately. (Given their wait list for reservations was 3 hours in, I was happy). There were two disadvantages to where we sat. 1) They do not have a waiting area, so as they got busier and the wait list grew, people were basically milling around our table while we were trying to  eat. 2) I HATE high top bistro stools. I max out at 5 foot 3 inches (Maybe ( I might have been being generous!).  Herself is a short bit of cuteness). I sit on those things and my legs dangle. This particular one had no mid-height foot rest, so my legs just dangled the entire meal. By the end of the meal, my feet were asleep and my butt hurt. ( Cute butt that it is).

Himself here.  One thing I really like to see is an open air kitchen,

where diners can see the food being prepared.  I know some folks want that to be out of sight, but I'm fascinated to watch a well run commercial kitchen in operation.  A place that can maintain the cleanliness and professionalism to pull that off is already WAY ahead of the game in my view.   Ciro's not only has the kitchen, but the pizza prep/oven area and bar right out there for the world to see.  My respect for that.

We were almost immediately greeted by our waiter, Robert. He was quite friendly and got our drink and appetizer order and left us with the menus to peruse. For drinks, Himself had the Sam Adam's Winter Lager on tap ($5.00), and I had an unsweetened ice tea ($2.25). For an appetizer we ordered the Antipasto Rustica ($11). It was a delicious blend of prosciutto, sharp provolone, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and an olive blend (with spicy cornichon pickles). It was pretty amazing. We were also served warm herbed bread with olive oil for dipping. 

On the subject of drinks.... they serve city water, with lemon to hide the chemicals.  Blech.  I asked him to just take mine away.

A good antipasto is an open canvas for a chef.  Wide open for wonderful tastes, or crashing failure.  Ciro's chef managed to put some excellent flavors on the plate, and keep it tightly pulled

Antipasto Rustico

together in a way that made sense.  The flavor range was wide enough to challenge the palate, and incite interest in the meal to come.  Exactly what an Appy should do.

Herself took great pleasure in arranging the treasures in various ways assured to assault her taste buds.  A bit of toasted bread, a sliver of Prosciutto, several bits of artichoke, a bit of red pepper....   pile it on and drool. 

When Robert came back to get our order, we asked for the Grilled Romaine and Prosciutto Salad ($11)  to share, and a dish of Beef Tips Gorgonzola with Penne ($24 We thought, and this is where it got strange, and we are stupid).  See.... here is where our idiocy comes to sit with us at the table. We saw at the top of the menu that you could order meals "family style" So we, as a team, decided to do that and share the dish. So I say to Robert, "We would like the Beef Tips Gorgonzola, family style for 2 with two plates, so we can share it."  I apparently sounded very confident because darling Robert never questioned my sanity. We will get back to this. (The man never even cracked a smirk... dammit....).

Half the salad, as we shared.

We enjoyed our salad. It's essentially a wedge salad with a twist. Grilled romaine with chopped (and sauteed) thick prosciutto chunks slathered on top, with a lemon Gorgonzola vinaigrette. Very tasty! With grilled chicken it could easily have been a meal, but we were smart (ish) and shared the salad sans chicken.  A point.... the salad dishes were chilled.  Nice touch... nice touch indeed.

Robert brought to the table a dish of (Fresh grated... and large) parmigiano-reggiano cheese. I'm excited, because I think thats a very generous gesture. He must have gotten the "Carolyn likes cheese memo." 

Robert brings out our entree, with a straight face. It is an enormous tureen, a trough if you will, of pasta and beef tips in a Gorgonzola demi sauce. It had roasted red peppers, sauteed onions, and mushrooms in it. 

Rich and flavorful, and enough to feed FOUR TO SIX PEOPLE with healthy sized portions. It came in at $72! Apparently in this instance "family-style" doesn't just mean plated so you can share. It means enough to feed a family. We are idiots and brought home two full containers of leftovers. We did ask Robert how much is in a regular sized serving, and he said about half 1/3 of what we got. So the "regular" portion sizes are fair.

When Robert carefully levered this huge pile of tasty steak and pasta onto our little table, I actually asked him how he managed to do that with a straight face.   There was honestly enough food for four people to feast, and six to make a decent meal.  Try as we did, we barely put a dent into it.

The steak was nicely done, to medium.  The pasta was done with a deft hand, and nicely al dente. Red peppers and mushroom rounded out the plate, but the sauce is what made it.  Gorgonzola cheese left it very, very rich.    The kind of sauce one likes to clean up with leftover bread..... if there was belly room left.

After the main, I perused the dessert display case, and chose mint chocolate chip gelato for myself, and Art had a cannoli. The cannoli was delicious (I snagged a bite!). The shell was perfect and fresh. The cream filling creamy and rich. My gelato was very tasty as well, a nice refreshing mint flavour. All of these items are made in house, and that is very impressive to me.

An expensive mistake, ordering 'family style', but all-in-all a fantastic meal at a restaurant that will become a go to for us.

Overall I give Ciro's Italian Bistro:
4.85 out of 5 forks for flavor
4 out of 5 forks for atmosphere
5 out of 5 forks for location (plenty of parking, and easy to get to!)
4.95 out of 5 forks for service 
4.7 forks overall 

Cocina Mexicana (TACO TACO TACO!)

"Seriously Dad... this place has the best tacos in Lancaster!"
"Okay, sounds good.  Where is it?"
"It's at mumble mumble near Prince and mumble"
"We'll give it a try..."

Seriously, my #1 son.... you were just trying to keep it for yourself, weren't you? (Super greedy, my dino loving friend. Super greedy.)

We finally just googled Cocina Mexicana, and made plans to stop there on a Friday after work. It's NOT at mumble mumble Prince and mumble, but in reality resides at 47 North Prince.  Near the Fulton but on the opposite side.  Yes, there are many, many interesting dining choices within a block or so, and this joint fits right in.  Excellent food, great service, and friendly atmosphere.

We got there around 5:30, having parked a few blocks away to enjoy the walk. Normally cities, any cities, make my hackles rise.  Too many rats in too small a maze.  That said, walking Prince Street in the Yippy section on a Friday evening feels safe and comfortable.  Sure, there's lots of rats out and about, but they are friendly and fun loving rats. (I don't mind walking around the city, if I am on my way to a destination. I am just not a city dweller by nature. I like woods and quiet, and less crime)

#1 son held forth on the food, how nice the owners family is, and etc blah blah.  My brain shut off after the word TACO began echoing around in it.  Having grown up thinking Taco Hell is what Mexican food was all about, it came as a shock later in life when I was introduced to the honest Mexican cuisine.  It was love at first bite.  Tacos may not be the epitome of that cuisine, but I'll damn well go out of my way to find a decent one... or a decent five maybe. (One of the girls I went to university with was from Mexico and I learned that I love well done, REAL Mexican food. A lot.)

Yeah, Cocina Mexicana has this covered.   Hell yeah..... that's some good tacos right there.  And everything else too, mostly.  For a tiny hole in the wall shop, they put out some awesomely good food.  I remain convinced that somebody's Grandma is in the back, cooking up a storm.  Only Grandmas and 5-star chefs cook that good. (Also they do amazingly well on their Restaurant Inspections! A huge plus in my book!)

We got there early, and had choice of tables.  That turned out to be a good thing.  Right about the point when I posted "Why isn't this place packed?" on Facebook, the deluge hit.  Every table was full within minutes.  Perhaps there is some hipster dinner bell that I've never heard.  It stayed full til we left, and we didn't dawdle as we knew the table was valuable space to a small place when they get busy.

Starters:  We ordered the Guacamole ($6.25, they run a market price so this could vary), and Chalupas Poblanos ($5.25).   The Guac needs no introduction, except that this was really quite good.  Herself is a Guac eating machine, while I barely enjoy a bit now and then.  The Guac from Cocina Mexicana..... yeah, I can eat that.  It comes with fresh warm tortilla chips, and many a chip died in battle as we struggled over that bowl.  In the end, I conceded the battlefield to herself, and ate my Chalupas.

Not that I got the dirt end of the stick.  The Chalupas Poblanos were tasty, and I thought I could happily make a meal out of them.  Especially as they made a superb platform for trying the three bottles of sauce brought to our table.  A mild hot sauce, a medium green chili sauce, and a 'hot' sauce.  All three were good, with nice flavor.  The mildest one being my favorite, but even the hottest one had good flavor and moderate heat. (They were "okay" I didn't love them, and was nervous that this is what the whole meal would be. I found them not super flavorful.)

Look.... if you are hunting a fancy dinner, try El Serrano (and that's a different review).  Cocina Mexicana is not fancy.  It's exceptional food, with just enough decor and color to let you know what to expect.   Yes, the sauce comes in plastic squeeze bottles.... and that is PERFECT for what this place is.

For mains, we ordered Tacos.  Before you ask, yes, there is a taco song running in my head.  It goes:  "Taco taco TACO!  Taco taco TACO!".    Don't judge me.  It's been a weird life. (Yes he sings this little ditty aloud, and frequently.)

I ordered a Chorizo taco ($2.50) and a Lengua (beef tongue) taco (also $2.50).  Herself can tell you about her own tacos herself.

On both of mine, I asked for sour cream and Pico De Gallo.  The pico was super fresh and memorable.  I'd happily bring home a bucket of it and put it on everything, except maybe ice cream.

Of my two tacos, the beef tongue was a clear winner to my palate.  Not to cast shadows on the Chorizo, as it had a true Chorizo flavor and made for a great taco.  It wasn't that fake Chorizo found in the grocery aisle next to the mystery meat 'Kielbasa', but a decent Mexican sausage and full of flavor.

The Lengua was my first foray into beef tongue territory, but won't be my last.  It was tender, flavorful, and turned a good taco into a great taco.  Drizzled with a bit of mild sauce, it exploded on my palate and left me wanting more.

So I had the Al Pastor (pork and pineapple) 2.50 and the Arabes (Pork with Cilantro Sauce) 3.25, I added cheese and sour cream to both.Holy crap, they were so flavourful and delicious! The pork and pineapple was just the right amount of sweet with spicy! And the pork with cilantro was mouth magic. Yummy!

After all this, we barely had room for afters.  Still, we felt it our duty to our readers to make the effort. Yeah..... that's it.... our duty. That's the story we are going with.

Actually, Herself saw Flan on the menu, and not even the hounds of hell could have kept her from ordering it.  I was happy to ask for Sopapillas as a sweet treat.

Her Flan, which we shared, was tasty. Smooth and creamy, with caramel undertones. (It was not homemade I suspect, not as creamy as I like in my flan. I gladly shared it with himself, to make it go away)  My Sopapillas.... meh.  They were the warm/fresh tortilla chips with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar and a drizzle of honey.  Enjoyable, but not the puffy fried dough version I was expecting. (I was a little bummed that they were not the puffy fried dough I was expecting, but they were still tasty. I would get those again before the sad flan!)

So.... how good was the meal?  How about 'I have a new favorite place for Mexican food' good?  Their menu is far more extensive than just simple tacos.   I can see us returning often, and dropping the starters/afters in favor of various mains to share.... as we eat tacos, of course.  We will be going early though, as it gets real crowded, real quick.  Watch for us at the corner table, chortling with glee as we chow down. (I will definitely eat there again, gladly. I look forward to trying the meals, on top of more tacos.)

Post Script:   We decided to get four more tacos to go, expecting the ride home to settle our meal a bit and make more room. You would have too.... you know you would have. (The tacos do not travel well, the fresh tortillas don't hold up great to travel and get kind of soggy. )

On a side note, this is a VERY affordable place, if you do not get a million extra things. You could walk out having spent $10-15 and have a happy full belly!

Overall I give Cocina Mexicana restaurant:
4.25 out of 5 forks for flavor
3.75 out of 5 forks for atmosphere
3 out of 5 forks for location (city = poopy parking, although if the Fulton is not having a show, you can park in the lot right next door!)
4.75 out of 5 forks for service
3.9375 forks overall 

Cafe 24 hundred

We had a coupon... or a 'Koopun' as I call them.  That's what led us to Cafe 24 Hundred in Willow Valley (North side of Willow Street).   I'm of the opinion that really good business ventures never need to run Koopuns to increase business; Their quality does that for them.  Sadly, I forgot that perspective before letting Herself wave that blasted Koopun in my face. (It was a good coupon! I got it from Verizon. Apparently they do a points program if you use their phone service, It was a free entree or up to $10 off, since NONE of the entrees came in under $10. And I like coupons, I feel they may lead us to places we may not have tried otherwise.)

We stopped for dinner on a Friday evening, expecting a nice upscale casual dining experience.   Cafe 24 Hundred certainly looks the part, with a serious attempt made at elegance.  Edgy lighting, industrial art work, contrasting trim, and a walk through the hotel lobby to reach the restaurant entrance.  One might expect something special ahead, in the way of a meal.

Look..... we'd heard good things about the place from friends.  Herself enjoyed a nice lunch there with a good friend on a previous visit. Others have talked up the food and ambiance.

What the hell..... maybe I'm just a crabby bear.  I expected something special, and Cafe 24 Hundred came up short.  Sorry, not sorry.... that's what I think, and my money will vote my opinion in the future. Even their website tries to be edgy, and just comes across as hard to use.

We arrived at 5:30 ish, and seating was not a problem.  In fact..... the place was near empty.  It stayed that way while we were there, with only a few tables being seated.  Here's a surreptitious selfie showing how packed it was....

I'll apologize for any images I use in this piece.  The lighting in the restaurant was... special.  Fashionable perhaps, but it promoted shadows and was cold where food is concerned. A touch of warmth in the light would have made a vast difference.

I'll speak to my meal, and Herself can tell you about hers.  I had the Shrimp and Scallop Carbonara ($18.95).  It was pretty much as billed; A pasta bowl with linguini, and a decent amount of both shrimp and scallops.  The seafood tasted fairly fresh, and the scallops were lightly cooked, not kilt ded. Yes, it had Pancetta and peas, in the classic recipe. The sauce, egg and Parmesan, as well.

What was left out was flavor.  There just wasn't any love.  We have better Parmesan in our fridge on any given day, and a good cheese was sorely missed in the dish. Garlic would have been welcome as well, at least enough to taste.  As for appearance, well.... here is what I was served:

Not a terrible dish, but rather generic and bland. It needed... something.  Some loving attention and maybe a little chef pride.  Perhaps if the seafood had been sauteed a bit before adding, or some shaved Parmesan perhaps.  It definitely needed seasoning, as both salt and pepper were absent to my palate. Of course salt and pepper shakers were on the table, but good sea salt and fresh ground black pepper would have transformed the dish into something much better.

Nice rolls :-)    Sad butter :-(

The menu suggested it would be served with grilled bread.  This, in fact, was not true.  A basket of warm(ish) rolls was brought for us to share, and they were quite nice.  The herbed butter that accompanied the rolls took us back to bland-city.  Salt free, and mostly flavor free as well.

Salad?  Nope.  Not included.  A small starter salad could be had for an extra $4.  I always thought pasta and salad were joined at the hip in a meal, but not at Cafe 24 Hundred.

Drinks:  I was in a beer mood, but only the old stand-by Yuengling lager had any appeal. Their beer menu is an afterthought, not a feature. Herself, on the other hand, ordered some type of Foo-Foo Koolaid looking beverage with lot's of alcohol.

It was good enough, and alcoholic enough, that she had two!

My drink was Hawaiian Punch. A combo of amaretto, sloe gin, and a bunch of other stuff that tasted EXACTLY like the stuff you drank as a kid. OMG, it was good! I don't usually do sweet drinks; I like a gin and tonic. This was a very nice treat, and two made me a little giggly!  

Herself can describe her own meal... it certainly looked better than mine (excepting the juice/water/whatever running across the plate) (blooood, it was blood! Because my medium-rare steak, was a little closer to rare-rare)

Hanger steak with Polenta and Swiss chard

The hanger steak was tender and well seasoned, the polenta flavorful but lumpy. The Swiss chard was nice. Now, this was a decent dinner, and they do claim a lot of the food is locally sourced (always a bonus in my opinion). But... was this a 27$ dinner? No. 

Salad was an additional $4.00, and the rolls were warmed, but hard like maybe they hit a microwave before coming out. Our server forgot about us for the longest time, one of my biggest pet peeves. 

So... there were some definite draw backs. It was clean and nice. The lighting is.. different. The booths are so squishy that I looked like a six year old sitting at the big kids table, that is always very off-putting for me. All in all I have very mixed feelings, and the fact that it was a poor value means I probably would not go there for dinner without a 'koopun'. 

  

Wings at RD's American Grill

RD's Teriyaki wings

Here on Dragons Gotta Eat Too, we talked about RD's place before.  It's a family restaurant down below Buck on 272.  In that piece, we spoke of RD's breakfast, a constant favorite of ours.

To get one thing out of the way right quick..... Herself said RD's bathroom wasn't handicapped accessible  (More credit to her, as I never considered even looking, I always check. I prefer the handicapped stalls because I can get pretty claustrophobic).   To be blunt, we got a bit beat up for that, so we checked again this visit.  YES.... RD's American Grill has an entire separate handicapped bathroom for their guests.  It was right in front of us, and still we missed it.  So.... Ten points for having a nice handicap accommodation.  On the other hand, minus ten for it being out-of-order when we visited.

The last time we were there (well, a few times back), there was a sign on the table advertising 'Wing Day'.  Every Thursday, 50 cent wings... all day.

I won't say we are wing experts... or even aficionados. Yet, WE LIKE WINGS.  50 cent wings?!?   Yeah.... we are up for that.

The first Thursday we had a chance, the chilluns were tossed in the car and off to RD's we traveled.  I had visions of 6 or 8 dozen wings on a big, heaping, platter right in the middle of our table.  Snarling and growling as we ate our way towards the center.

The reality was, little girl child had the soup 'n salad bar (Very Fresh, and the tomato bisque soup was truly a work of love) (She also snagged one of my wings and one of his!).  Boy child wanted 20 wings.... oddly.  I started with a dozen and a basket of hand cut fries to share with the table. Herself had a half dozen wings and the salad bar. (The soup and salad bar is small, but the fixings on it are very fresh. There were two soup varieties and the Tomato Bisque was really good. I would order it again in a heartbeat.)

I thought we'd each do a couple dozen, and try most of the flavors as we went.  That idea went out the window with the size of the wings brought to us that night.  

These were serious wings from damn healthy sized chickens.

Also out the window was trying all the different flavors.  When the smoke cleared, boy had ordered 10 teriyaki and 10 garlic parm.  Herself ordered a half dozen garlic parm.  *I* ordered a dozen.... garlic parm.   Are you sensing a pattern here?  Yup, we all like 
Garlic Parmesan wings.

RD's garlic Parmesan wings

Basic, but perfect, hand cut fries.

The garlic Parmesan wings were almost the best we've had in Lancaster County.   The best we've had?  Brendee's Pub on Lemon street in Lancaster.  On the other hand, Brendee's is a bar, with smoking, and it's a bar.  Did I mention it's a bar?  As much as we like Brendee's, and love their wings, we are not taking the kids there.  It being in town, we ourselves are not going that often either. Our lives just don't work that way.

RD's on the other hand, is a family restaurant, and it's down here on the southern end, not far from home, AND their garlic parm wings are ALMOST as good as Brendee's.   On some days, they might be better I'm sure.

Game to try another flavor, we ordered six more of the BBQ flavored wings.  These were downright tasty, and I'll happily order them again and again.   The boy's teriyaki wings?  He said they were fair... but I'll note he didn't get off a single one for us to taste ourselves. (I tasted the sauce, and it was okay. It was a very dark teriyaki sauce, I prefer mine a little lighter with a hint of pineapple.  Garlic Parm is definitely the way to go. I would also like to try their basic medium wings)

RD's BBQ wings

Boil it down, and the results are simple.  RD's is our new favorite family wing place.  Good service, great price, and GREAT wings.

RD's Revisited (Wing Night)
4.5 out of 5 forks for flavor
4 out of 5 forks for atmosphere 
4out of 5 forks for location
4.5 out of 5 forks for service 
4.5 out of 5 forks for value (I feel this is important to gauge as well!)  
4.3  forks overall 

Bacon..

Bacon.

Lemme just say that again.... BACON.

Shiver.  Just the word alone evokes a reaction in my very core.  Of all the gifts 'ol porky has given us, bacon has to be the very finest.   Nothing... well, almost nothing (*insert lecherous eyebrow waggle here*)... will drag a man out of bed in the morning like the smell of bacon cooking.

Let's share a few moments and talk... Bacon. American style bacon here, made from Pork Belly.  Brined or salted down, and cured.  Added spices are not uncommon, as well as sugar.  Following the curing process, which can last from only hours in 'factory' bacon, to weeks for really high end dry cured, or home cured bacon. Some bacon is smoked as well.  In factory bacon, the 'smoke' can be in the form of liquids harpooned into the meat on an assembly line.

There are other bacon's as well. British 'Back' bacon is typically made from the pork loin, perhaps with a bit more attached.  Canadian bacon (is HAM!) is cured pork loin, and may be smoked as well.  Both are much leaner than American style bacon.

We will not speak of 'Turkey' bacon, or any other alleged food product which has non-oinker wannabes posing as real food.  Never... ever... trust phony food.  If it's made of one thing, and pretending to taste like another thing, just let it go. (Turkey bacon, tofurkey, all these things are lies. If you want something that tastes like something; you are better off eating a bit of that something. It will better satisfy a craving, so you won't go overboard.)

When it comes to buying (American style, (GO 'MURICA!)) bacon, we have many choices.  Like any other product this popular, the market has supplied every buyer with something in their price and taste range.

An average American supermarket will have a case full of packaged 'factory' bacon.  The cheapest bacon will be found there, but rarely the best bacon.  That's not to say some decent bacon can't be found in a one pound shrink wrapped package, but the odds are not in the shoppers favor.  By the time we get into 'decent' packaged bacon, we can easily match the price in the meat department of the store.  

Over in the meat cases, if the store has a fair butcher department, a shopper will generally find trays of sliced bacon which looks far different than the packaged stuff.  Often they may come from the same source.... but they are not the same product.

Bacon, beautiful bacon. It's beauty is beyond compare!

In our local case, John Martin prepackaged bacon can be found in most stores, and finding the same makers bacon in the meat case happens often as well.  The thing is... it's usually not the same bacon.

The stuff in the meat case is almost always a higher quality.  More meaty, and often differently cured. If it looks a bit gray, that's even better.  That means less or no nitrates were used in the cure.

That bacon in the meat case is usually the best bacon value in the store.  Good quality, visible contents slice by slice, and the price often does not exceed the high end stuff in the prepackaged aisle.

Typically, there is a tray of 'bacon ends' next to the sliced bacon in the meat case.  These are literally the different length slices that didn't fit the nice neat sliced bacon display, or the fattier end of the slab as it was sliced.  There is not one thing wrong with this bacon for family meals where 'pretty' is not the main objective.  It serves well as flavoring bacon as well, chopped up and rendered down.  This is the bacon we put in baked beans, on salads, and make BLT's with.

There is another option, not for the faint of bacon heart.  That's slab bacon.  Un-sliced, and usually special order.  Slab (or half-slab like I buy) is a great big chunk of bacon, around 5 pounds for a half slab, and 10-12 pounds on a full slab.  It's a full on bacon commitment.  It means bacon more than once every week or two, on Sunday mornings.  Having 5 pounds of bacon on hand encourages bacony initiative and innovation.

Buying slab bacon calls for some trust in your store's meat department.  They'll usually special order a slab for a customer, but no one really knows how meaty it will be till it's sliced, and that will be on the customer's kitchen counter.  It could be mostly fat.... and that happens.

I order my half-slabs from Oregon Dairy market, and they get it from Stoltzfus Meats.  

Now, why would one go to the trouble of buying an uncut slab of bacon, which is often the exact same thing that's sliced in the meat case?  Because it IS un-sliced.... which means WE choose how thick we have those slices of smoked pork belly. Any shape or size we wish, and it does effect how it cooks!

I like my bacon thick.  Crispy bacon is wonderful, but nothing in this world can match a super thick slice of smoked bacon which has been roasted slowly in a 350 degree oven.  Thick.... like 3/8", or thicker.  It cooks up just a little crispy on the outside, and tender bacony on the inside. Flavor unseen since bacon moved from the farms smokehouse and into the stores meat case.

Having great big chunks of slab bacon on hand also allows for experimentation in flavoring.  Such a chunk of meat lends itself to being dry rubbed, wrapped up, and tucked away in the fridge for a week.  Brown sugar, salt, garlic, and paprika is a favorite of mine for this.

When it comes to cooking bacon, there's nothing at all wrong with the typical American method of just frying it up in the pan.

Well.... not much wrong anyway.   There IS the need to hover over it, lest it burn.  There is a reason bacon is a commonly burned item in a commercial kitchen.   Splatter is also a problem... and a painful one.  People own splatter shields for a reason.  Of course, that splatter has to land someplace, and that means lots of cleanup after frying up some bacon.

I'd like to offer a suggestion for cooking bacon, and lots of it too.

Why not roast it in the oven?

After all, it's a controlled temperature that can effectively fry the bacon in it's own rendered out fat, without the risk of burning or the need to watch like a hawk.

It's so easy, really.  Place a backing rack on a half sheet, using parchment on the sheet pan if you wish (It makes cleanup easier).  Lay your sliced bacon out on the baking rack, as tight as you wish. 

I like to grind on some fresh black pepper at that point, or some Montreal steak seasoning. A fine sprinkle of brown sugar would not be misplaced, or a drizzle of maple syrup if that's your thing. 

With bacon layered on the baking rack, slide the sheet pan into the oven and set the temperature for 350 to 400 degrees, depending on how quickly you want to eat.  Cooking time is 15 to 30 minutes, in line with how thick your bacon is and how crisp you want it.  Once it looks done, one can remove just the bacon to a paper towel lined plate, or CAREFULLY pull the entire sheet pan from the oven to cool.  LOOK... pay attention here... the sheet pan will be full of rocket hot bacon grease.   Second degree burns faster than you can say "AAAHHHHH!!!" Be careful my friends. (Listen to Mr. Man in this, his arm is a lovely piece of flesh after a horrible bacon burn earlier this week!)

Bacon is magical, and there's no reason to cheap out on the magic.  Buy good bacon, the best you can afford, and be flexible in it's use.  Cook it right, cook it often, and enjoy it! 

An aside from Herself: Don't be afraid to mix sweet and savory with bacon. There is an entire flavor world to be explored. Bacon milkshakes, bacon sticky rolls, bacon apple pie, bacon pancake dippers, the list goes on. Be brave with your food. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!!